Moschino

Some designers have been channeling English rock gods in Milan, but Moschino went straight to the Big Kahuna, America's own Elvis Presley. Prints are a house signature, and Rossella Jardini really wanted to push them for men for Spring. The King gave her design team the license they needed to explore that notion.

From fifties Elvis came a rockabilly's cardigan emblazoned with playing card symbols, a recurring motif, as well as a double-breasted, gold-buttoned blazer with the sleeves and ribbed collar of a varsity jacket, a typical Moschino juxtaposition. A military jacket reflected Presley's brief stint in the army. His Blue Hawaii period yielded blue- or pink-on-brown hibiscus prints on jackets, shirts, and pants. Vegas Elvis was represented by, among other things, a cotton gabardine jacket covered in trompe l'oeil spotlights.

Combining the squire of Graceland with Moschino's ever present exuberance might sound like a recipe for excess, but Jardini and co. mostly succeeded in keeping things light and playful. "It's one of the few times we've had to tone down an inspiration," joked menswear designer Bill Shapiro.